Impact of health system protocol on patient qualification for influenza point-of-care testing

Point-of-care testing (POCT) is a service that community pharmacies are implementing to increase patient access to care. Many pharmacies develop protocols with physicians to maximize patient qualification for POCT, while maintaining patient safety.

To determine the number of patients seen for influenza in the emergency department (ED) during the 2018-2019 season who would qualify for protocol-driven influenza testing.

This was a retrospective review of medical records. Patients seen in this 92 bed ED, level III trauma center between October 1, 2018 and May 1, 2019 were included if their age was older than 11 years or younger than 71 years with an influenza-related diagnosis. Patients were excluded if they were pregnant or breastfeeding, were allergic to oseltamivir, were recently diagnosed with pneumonia, or recently received a live influenza vaccine. Patient information collected included: sex, age, height, weight, pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate, temperature, oxygen saturation, mental status, symptoms, time since onset of symptoms, immune system status, and history of respiratory illness or respiratory disease. These data points were used to determine eligibility for POCT based on a prespecified protocol that included criteria such as vital signs, symptom presentation, and other health conditions. The primary end point was the number of patients eligible for institutional protocol-driven POCT.

There were 1955 ED visits with a primary diagnosis of influenza; 451 were eligible for study inclusion, and 49 (11%) qualified for POCT. The most common reason that patients did not qualify was temperature. If required temperature had been removed from the protocol, 155 patients (34%) would have qualified for POCT.

On the basis of the institutional protocol, a small proportion of patients qualified for POCT. Without the protocol temperature requirement, the number of patients who qualified for POCT would have greatly increased. This study identified opportunities for improvement in the institutional protocol. Future research is needed to reassess the number of patients who qualify once revisions are made.